10 years ago, I read an article reprinted from Elite Daily titled “20 Things that Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.” It was a unique angle illustrating how actions not taken most often produced the most positive results, and in the shortest time, which is exactly what successful businesses strive for.

When looking at the don’ts of that years-old list side-by-side to the dos of our Core Values today, it was interesting to see the parallel reflection in the foundation blocks of our company.

 Mentally Strong People DON’T                                Strong Automotive DOES

True today, 10 years ago, and over 500 years past:  “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” -Leonardo da Vinci

As Thanksgiving nears, I am thankful for the opportunity to work with every client we are blessed to serve. And above all, for our entire team…believing, achieving, and succeeding by doing!

My intent is to not ruffle anyone’s feathers, but with what I’ve seen and read on social media in the one week since the election, I can hear those feathers ruffling already.

I am not downplaying the importance of the election, but the reaction to the outcome is bizarre, with some of the cruelest and saddest comments I’ve ever seen. People are so upset that they are taking days off work, college campuses are closing, and support groups are being offered across the country. They are writing, “I’ll never friend some of you again,” and “Purging all my friends list to know who my friends are.”

People have gotten so uptight and so full of themselves, that they let something this small – in the grand scheme of life – overwhelm them in anticipation of unknown future outcomes.  One lesson we should have learned these past weeks: will you ever again trust a pollster predicting events yet to come?

The ability to take a loss can be one of life’s greatest lessons, it has been in mine.  Call it the ‘step-back’ moment. When you lose something, you lose for some reason, either your ability, your plan, your execution, your strategy, or your resources. You must face the loss, and figure out how you are going to come back better.

What is one of the most gratifying moments in the agency business?  The answer is when you do not win a pitch – but six months later the same client calls you back in, you close the deal, and build a great relationship. I am thankful for who I am and blessed for the people around me who taught me how to take a loss and move on.

On one hand, it makes me sad to think about what has caused America as a society to get so soft.  You will not learn how to lose by cowering or shrinking in a corner, nobody can cower with pride.  Heard this quote a year ago, but I don’t remember who said it: “If I could teach my kids one thing in their lives, it would be to have true grit.”

Everyone should know who said this:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.

I’ve lost almost 300 games.

26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.

And that is why I succeed.”

– Michael Jordan

Thanksgiving is almost here, the only ones with ruffled feathers should be the turkeys.

Yes, I was ready for all the political ads to go away.  And the first normal commercial I saw could not have made me happier.  It was for the Big Oak Ranch for Boys and Girls reaching their 50 Years milestone.

At a time when our country is struggling with differences, nobody in my opinion has made a more positive footprint of difference than Big Oak Ranch founder John Croyle and for the past several years, his son, Brodie.  I invite you to visit their website and get the full story of how their mission began in Gadsden, AL and how it has endured for 50 years.

Here is an excerpt from the Big Oak Ranch 50 Years website:

“Hope still changes everything. What started with one home for five boys is now a network of ministries dedicated to giving abused, abandoned, and neglected children a stable, loving Christian home and the opportunity to experience God’s grace…

This mission is deeply rooted in the four promises we make to every child who calls Big Oak Ranch home.

We Love You.  We Will Never Lie to You.

We Will Stick with You Until You Are Grown. There Are Boundaries.

In those four promises, our children find love and emotional support…But mostly, they find hope and the chance to discover God’s true purpose for their lives.

Since 1974 more than 2,000 children have called Big Oak home. Today, we have 11 homes for girls and 14 homes for boys. In the past year alone, we’ve served 205 children from 12 states. Through Planting Oaks, we’ve helped like-minded ministries serve more than 6,500 children in 33 states.”

The Big Oak Ranch mission for the past 50 years has been Changing More Lives, and focuses anew on the next 50 year of caring for children through the love of Christ.  Give a gift in support of their 50/50 Vision. Heading into the holidays, this is a perfect time to help children in need see the bright light of hope in their world.

www.bigoak.org/donate

The votes were cast, and the results announced Tuesday evening caused anxiety for Americans from coast-to-coast.  How could this happen?  What were you thinking?  Don’t you watch the games being played?

Before you assume these reactions were to November 5th’s Presidential election, there was another vote last Tuesday night. ESPN unveiled the first listing of teams and their standing for the Bowl Championship Series’ new 12-team playoff – that’s 8 more teams than the old model with just 4 teams.  You would think the expanded format would mean more happy fans, but complaining was rampant from fans of teams that missed out, and of teams that made it.

Criticisms on various social media platforms  ranged from regional prejudice, to traditional old-crony favoritism. Probably even had some fans of Southern Methodist University [SMU – 13th ranked] upset that Notre Dame [10th ranked]  got in…Methodists vs Catholics, get it?

To say the anger index of fans  was elevated is an under-statement, but what stood out to me was the number of head coaches mentioning their team’s resiliency to move on and upward.  There are more games to be played, and new votes each week until the season’s end.

The Presidential election, that’s a different story:  the vote is in, and next election in 4 years.  What I found most interesting was information revealed in the Voter Exit Polls with average citizens systematically questioned after casting their ballot.

Of course, the main issues that determined who got their vote reflected concerns for the economy, the country’s perception, the borders, abortion – difficult issues we hope everyone can work together on for satisfying solutions.

But what about America’s resiliency?  The Exit Poll survey said that over 60% believe our country’s best days are ahead, still to come.  I love that!  If the response had been 70 or 80%, even better, but a majority still  have a positive attitude.

Merriam-Webster defines resiliency as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.” Some may view the Presidential Election as adversity, for others it may be change, but the key words for growing and prospering  are ‘ability to recover’ and ‘adjust easily’ – just one more way of saying, “Attitude is Everything!”  On that positive note, we can all agree.

I am sure the sun came up today, despite the drizzly rain falling outside.  And as this day unfolds, life will move on no matter what the weather or other circumstances.  To me, each day is the next chapter of my life, with the title often to be determined by the choices I make, ready or not.

Top of mind this morning is the Presidential election.  I think back on all these events experienced in my years, and no matter the outcome, whether it was a bitter battle down to the wire or a clear-cut victory, life went on.  For our country, we hope and pray for the best, always have, and always should.  The next chapter will be what it is, just like all the chapters already titled, like Off to School or Cool Kid or First Job or Start Business,  and the best chapter for me…Love & Marriage & Family.

All those chapters had their ups and downs, and whether it was dumb luck or providence, here I am today.   To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:  Getting through this life is like crossing monkey bars…only when you let go and reach out for the next bar, can you move forward.  Remember that moment at the playground?  I might fall, I might get hurt, I don’t want my buddies to laugh at me – but you made that choice to move on,  and never looked back.

It’s the choices we make that set the stage for the next chapter.  I have often said to my clients, ‘Hope is not a plan!’  The meetings I have today, the time I spend with my employees, the treasured time I spend with my wife and children, and the outcome of this election – for all of these I do hope for the best, I have put in the work to handle what I can, but I know from experience, everything will be what it is.

When was the last time you experienced something for the first time?

No matter what, handle it and make this next chapter one of the best.

God Bless America!

I am beginning a new periodic theme for our blog titled “Sign the Wall!”

Here’s the back story.

When you visit our offices, you will see a bold piece of wall art titled “ENTHUSIASM CREATES ATTITUDE.” It is a company mantra, and is represented by our employees in so many ways – both in the office and out in daily life.

While idly surfing the internet not long ago, a picture of famed (and defamed) actor Johnny Depp appeared. What was unique about it was Depp being in costume as his famed character Captain Jack Sparrow, seated on a hospital bed and talking to a young patient who looked overjoyed.

It turns out as Depp travels the world, he brings his pirate costume and has made it a point of visiting children in hospitals in Australia, Canada, Paris, and more. According to the story I read, Depp’s visit to this hospital in Spain was over two hours, chatting with patients and families in pediatric and oncology wards.

Medical experts commented that a celebrity visit such as this has a great impact, including improved self-esteem and confidence, distraction from illness, improved optimism and a morale boost.

The last time I saw Johnny Depp in the news was, like most of you, during the Amber Heard trial – it was not a highlight moment. But after reading about Depp’s acts of repeated kindness, his voluntary enthusiasm  toward children in long-term hospitalization, I am going to give him his due – Johnny Depp can sign the  ENTHUSIASM CREATES ATTITUDE wall any time he’s in town.

I am also excited to announce Strong Automotive is also going to create a new honor for our employees who go above and beyond in community service – they will sign the wall, and I will sign a check for their favorite charity.

And if you have someone you would like to nominate, send me their story… it’s a big wall!

Football this past weekend had some rip-down-the-goalposts firsts, we’ll get to those in a moment.

Recently, our company celebrated another first: 100 new clients added in one year’s time.  This feat is something I view with a great sense of accomplishment from the big-picture viewpoint.  While some of the new clients invited us to make a presentation, others were referrals, many were just solid prospecting by our team.  My hope is nobody overlooks all the Mondays through Fridays, week in and week out over the 20-plus years it took for our team to have this opportunity become a reality.  Did I believe it would happen?  Never a doubt!

The successful people who I have learned from, and been fortunate to work with, always displayed determination.  No matter what came along, they faced it head-on.  The key takeaway, as I saw it, was they learned from day-to-day experiences, and filed away all that had occurred so they would seldom be surprised down the road. Everything was a lesson – big or small was not a qualifying consideration.  Looking back, my automotive advertising career began in Direct Mail, not necessarily the ‘glam’ department.  But it was this learning experience that would become key to my company’s survival some 20 years later.  Never underestimate the why of your life!

My years traveling on the road took me to places that were a far cry from metro destination points, but the knowledge I gained from the dealership owners, managers, salespeople, and even the media people in those smaller markets, was priceless.  It was understanding how to effectively make every dollar count.   We never stopped working to create the most value for the client,  and each process we discovered to create value was learned first-hand and kept in personal journals.  The number of times I have adapted this knowledge to big-city dealers is countless.

I opened by pointing out that this past weekend for football fans was historical in regards to ‘big’ defeats.  In fairness for the underdog schools that pulled the upset, a true tip of the hat, you never doubted.  For the teams and coaches now feeling the hot seat, the lessons of our 100-new-clients-acquired need to be applied.  You cannot allow all the good that you have built to be defined or derailed in a single moment.  This is one of the times sports really is like the business world.  The longer you play, the more chances there will be a setback, and what you learn from a loss is often more important than a win. Success is not granted or given

There was a recent baseball game with the home team’s young ace just mowing hitters down, in fact, a no-hitter. So, when the team manager walks to the mound, and signals the bullpen to make a pitching change, the fans go crazy…there’s no changing pitchers in the middle of a no-hitter! Oh yes, there is – when the pitcher is a generational player with years ahead of him…if his young arm holds up.

What’s the lesson here? First, let’s assign the roles: as a business owner, you are the manager. Your employees are the pitcher and the team. And those fans booing could be your stockholders, your board, or truth be told, company naysayers who for whatever reason were not supportive of the decision to change. Of course, they feel entitled to let you hear it.

Playing the part of manager, I would never give one thought to sending an assistant coach out to make the pitching change, and I would answer any sports writer’s question. When you are the driving force behind a decision to change, your confidence level needs to be at 100% to take the credit for success, or the blame if it fails. Everyone in your circle of influence, as you map out change, needs to be made clear of your ‘why’ vision – the Big Picture. When its your company, change is seldom about two or three more innings, but the far horizon.

Considering change is a mental speedway. You need to have guardrails, but I am not a fan of restrictor plates. Always be open to discussion, critical as well as positive. But when you are not satisfied 100%, time for action. I believe nurturing an asset like our young pitcher and allowing him to grow into his full potential is no different than evaluating your business processes, practices, and people, including those that appear to be running out of fuel. It is all about timing. The bottom-line short answer: if the change I am considering is going to help us get better, it has got to be done. No better example than when THE college head coach swapped QBs at half-time – from a veteran to an unproven freshman – and won a National Championship, saying the change was their best chance to win.

The manager sure did pull his pitcher and it was a good change: more young pitchers out there with sore arms than no-hitters. You cannot be overwhelmed by the moment. You sometimes must revise good practices so they endure and flourish over the long run. Look down that road, meet new challenges without fear…embrace change!

Competitive excellence are two words that I have never put together in the same phrase until today. A long-time trusted friend, business partner, team leader, and mentor of mine sent me a quote today titled Competitive Excellence. It was in reference to an article about how the Ritz-Carlton, for the first time many years ago, won a very prestigious award, basically an award that gave them the highest rank of any client-related service industry in their field. When asked what this award meant to them for all their years of hard work and accomplishment, the owner of Ritz-Carlton said it simply meant this: “We’ve got to be better tomorrow.”
Competitive excellence is something a lot of people don’t understand. Many people in sports, life, and in certain achievements, reach a certain level. They reach the pinnacle, they reach the top of their game, and they decide to let up. They think that they’ve done everything there is to do. They’ve reached the final mark. They’ve reached the highest level. And from there, that’s it. But competitive excellence is reaching that milestone, reaching that accomplishment, and waking up the next day knowing that there’s more to do.
See, if you’re not waking up every day with a mindset of competitive excellence, if you’re not waking up every day trying to be a little bit better than you were the day before, you’re going to end up being inadequate. And from day after day of being adequate, then you’ll accept mediocrity. And from mediocrity, it becomes less than normal, subpar, and downright not very good.
Competitive excellence is very hard for some people to realize because they wonder when you’ll ever stop. They wonder when enough’s good enough. They wonder if they can ever do anything to achieve the ultimate goal. But that’s not it. It’s not that you can never be pleased. The ultimate goal is that you’ve got to strive to be better. True competitors that are in it for life are always trying to be better. They always try to do more. They always try to be more. And they never, ever stop. That is the true essence of competitive excellence, and it gives me a renewed spirit and mindset to wake up tomorrow and be better than I was today.

What is normal, anyway? I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week as I consider what a new normal looks like for me. Before, it seemed I was always stressed, always moving fast, and always dealing with issues that seemed insurmountable at times. But as I’ve taken a break from alcohol, I’ve started to put my life into a different and better perspective. I’m settling into a much more peaceful place I would call a new normal.

I don’t really know if anything is normal in the world anymore. This morning, while taking my daughter and her friend to school, we had a conversation about the recent school shooting in Georgia, and I found myself at a loss for what to say. My only thought was to ask them if they felt safe at school, to which they both said no. The best thing I could come up with was, “If you see somebody that bothers you or something that you think doesn’t feel right or seem right, tell somebody. Don’t hold it in.” That’s the new normal. Driving your daughter to school and the thought crossing your mind: Let’s just pray that this isn’t the day that somebody walks into a school with a loaded firearm. That is the new normal.

Another new normal for me is happiness. I completely changed gears. I find myself much happier even when things go wrong, even when things seem out of place, and even when situations happen that are out of my control. It’s okay. I’ve learned that it’s going to be okay. And I think that’s another new normal. A new normal is also waking up happy every day with a smile on my face, thankful for a good night’s sleep, and enjoying what’s going to come from the day. It may not all be good, but a new normal is a sense of feeling—feeling a sense of refreshment in the morning. That’s a new normal.

So, I don’t really know what normal is anyway. But one thing I have found over the recent days and weeks is that I am experiencing a new normal of feeling better. That’s something to feel good about.